The present invention relates to a system connection adapter and a terminal device for connecting a system for supervising and controlling such as an air conditioning apparatus and a lighting apparatus which are installed in a building or at home, for example, to an open system which is made up by using a protocol different from that used by the system for supervising and controlling.
Conventionally, a network management system, which supervises and controls such as an air conditioning apparatus and a lighting apparatus installed in such as a building, is making up its own original network system. For that reason, the conventional network management system is not allowed to be interconnected with other systems.
In recent years, however, there is a rising demand of making up a low cost and highly efficient system by unifying the standards of network systems, thereby allowing various devices and open systems to be selected freely depending on the purposes, and by interconnecting the systems.
Under such circumstances, a problem has been posed with devices which are connectable only with maker""s original network systems. Those devices are not operable with open systems, which causes trouble to the sales performance.
In order to solve such a problem, Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei7-212405, for example, has proposed a method of building an integrated heterogeneous multi-protocol network through connection of single protocol networks of different kinds from each other by means of a gateway which provides transparent interconnection.
When such a connection method is used, there is a merit of allowing the devices and systems of different makers to be connected with each other. To the contrary, however, it is becoming difficult for a maker to establish predominance with its original function being developed and added.
Besides, another problem has been posed of handling an original function which is not specified in open systems.
The present invention is directed to solving those problems discussed above. It is an object of the present invention to provide a system connection adapter and a terminal device which allow for ease in developing a system product having an additional function which is maker""s original and thereby predominant over those of other companies, and also allow for ease in expanding functions.
A system connection adapter according to the present invention may includes a command A transmitting and receiving means which transmits and receives a command A relating to a system A, a command B transmitting and receiving means which transmits and receives a command B relating to a system B which is made up by using a protocol different from a protocol used by the system A, a frame B transmitting and receiving means which transmits and receives a communication frame B relating to the system B, an intersystem command correspondence memorizing means which memorizes correspondence relation between the command A and the command B, a command A analyzing means which analyzes the command A from the command A transmitting and receiving means, and judges, with reference to the intersystem command correspondence memorizing means, whether to establish a correspondence between the command A and the command B, a command conversion means which establishes, with reference to either one of a judgement result by the command A analyzing means and the intersystem command correspondence memorizing means, the correspondence between the command A from the command A transmitting and receiving means and the command B from the command B transmitting and receiving means, and converts the command A and the command B from one to the other so as to mediate transmission and reception between the command B transmitting and receiving means and the command A transmitting and receiving means, and a frame encapsulation and decapsulation means which performs one of encapsulation and decapsulation, with reference to the judgement result by the command A analyzing means, of the communication frame B from the frame B transmitting and receiving means and the command A from the command A transmitting and receiving means so as to mediate transmission and reception between the frame B transmitting and receiving means and the command A transmitting and receiving means.
A terminal device according to the present invention may be connected to a system B in a system which is provided with a system A, the system B and a connection adapter, the system B being made up by using a protocol different from that used by the system A, and the connection adapter performing one of converting a command A relating to the system A and a command B relating to the system B from one to the other and exchanging the command A and the command B by means of encapsulating the command A in a frame B relating to the system B and extracting the command A encapsulated from the frame B. The terminal device may include a command B transmitting and receiving means, which transmits and receives the command B to and from the connection adapter, a command B processing section, which performs one of interpreting the command B and generating the command B and transmits and receives the command B to and from the command B transmitting and receiving means, a frame B transmitting and receiving means, which transmits and receives the frame B to and from the connection adapter, an encapsulation and decapsulation means, which performs one of encapsulating the command A into the frame B and decapsulating the frame B to extract the command A and transmits and receives the frame B to and from the frame B transmitting and receiving means; and a command A processing section, which performs one of interpreting the command A and generating the command A and transmits and receives the command A to and from the encapsulation and decapsulation means.